gopass vs pass (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, gopass and pass share a 2.6 GPA, both are free, so the choice depends on which platforms you need.
Checked Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
They get the same grade on all five counts.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Which one is for you
Pick gopass if
- Fits if you work in a terminal and keep secrets in Git
- Makes sense if a small team shares credentials through an encrypted store
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want a graphical app or a click-through setup
- Watch out: browser fill depends on the gopass-bridge add-on
- Skip it if you need phone apps, as the site lists none
- Tight if you do not want to run GPG keys and a Git remote
Pick pass if
- Fits if you live in a terminal and already use GPG and Git
- Works for people who want plain encrypted files they control
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want a graphical app, as there is no official one
- Skip it if you are on Windows, which relies on a third-party client
- Watch out: syncing is your job, through Git or file copying
- Too light for sharing with a team, as the site describes no team features
How we grade them
| 2.6GPAgopassGood | 2.6GPApassGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AFree and open source with no paid plans, well under 60% of the cheaper quarter. | AFree software under GPLv2 or later with no paid plans, which sits under 60% of the cheaper quarter in a category where most tools charge $2.99. |
| Free plan and trial | AFree outright, with no plan, no cap and no account to open. | ANo plan, no cap and no account. You download it and use it. |
| Features | CIt covers storing and sharing secrets from a terminal. Browser fill relies on a separate add-on and the site lists no graphical app. | CIt does the job of storing, generating and copying passwords, in a smaller scope than a full manager. Sharing and team features are not described on the site. |
| Ease of use | DSetup needs GPG and a Git remote you set up yourself. No store rating on record. | DYou work in a terminal and set up GPG keys and Git yourself. No store rating on record. |
| Platforms and integrations | CMac, Linux and Windows plus a browser add-on. No phone apps listed, so it is a computer-only tool. | CLinux and Mac, as the site describes, plus community clients such as qtpass, browserpass and passff. No official phone or Windows app. |
| Best for | terminal users sharing passwords through Git | command-line people who already use GPG and Git |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: gopass and pass. How we grade
Price against what you get
gopass has no paid plan and scores 1.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. pass has no paid plan and scores 1.7.
On this chart the two sit in the same place: the same score for the same starting price. Of the other password managers on the chart, none scores higher than gopass for less, and none scores higher than pass for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- gopass is end-to-end encrypted, according to its own site.
At a glance
| gopass | pass | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| Starts at | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Free and open source, with no paid plans. | Free software under GPLv2 or later with no paid plans. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | gopass project | Jason A. Donenfeld |
| Price read from | gopass.pw | passwordstore.org |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
gopass
- There is no graphical app on the site; browser fill depends on the gopass-bridge add-on.
- Setup needs GPG and a Git remote that you configure yourself.
- The site lists no mobile apps.
pass
- It has no official graphical app; phone apps and browser plugins come from other projects.
- The site describes it for Linux, BSD and Mac OS X; Windows use relies on a third-party client.
- You manage your own GPG keys and any syncing through Git or file copying.
- Sharing and team features are not described on the site.
Key features
gopass
- Command-line first
- Commands such as list, show and generate cover everyday use, so a password can be fetched without leaving the terminal.
- GPG encryption
- Secrets are encrypted with GnuPG, and the site says data is stored locally and private keys stay on your machine.
- Git versioning
- The store is versioned with Git, giving a history of changes and a way to sync secrets across devices.
- Team and family sharing
- Secrets can be shared with other people while keeping them encrypted.
- Add-ons
- gopass-bridge fills passwords in Firefox and Chrome, git-credential-gopass serves Git tokens, and gopass-hibp checks for exposed passwords.
pass
- One GPG file per password
- Each entry is an encrypted file named for the site or resource, kept in folders under a single password-store directory.
- Git history
- The store can be tracked with Git, which records changes to passwords and helps copy the store between machines.
- Generate and copy
- Commands add, edit, generate and retrieve passwords, and can put one on the clipboard and clear it after 45 seconds.
- Plain Unix workflow
- Works alongside normal shell commands, with completion for bash, zsh and fish and a man page for documentation.
- Community clients
- The site lists third-party tools, including a cross-platform GUI, Android and iOS apps, and Firefox and Chrome plugins.
Plans
gopass
Free$0
The full command-line tool, installed with a package manager such as Homebrew or pacman.
pass
Free$0
The full command-line tool; third-party clients and extensions listed on the site are separate projects.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, gopass or pass?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both gopass and pass are free to use.
Which has a free plan, gopass or pass?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both gopass and pass have a free plan.
Which platforms do gopass and pass run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only gopass lists a Windows app and a browser extension. Both list macOS and Linux apps. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.